1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the neutralization of water and land based mine fields, and more specifically, to the destruction of such mine fields by deploying a large-area, explosive net over the mine field from an air-launched vehicle and then detonating the net to destroy the mines.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The operations of amphibious landing forces are subject not only to exposure to enemy fire, but also to the hazards of water borne and land borne mine fields. Wide assault lanes are required for moving troops and vehicles from the sea to the shore, and these lanes must be cleared of mines in advance of landings, preferably without substantial risk to either personnel or to high value equipment. The U.S. Navy has developed a method for destroying the mines within an assault lane by covering the assault lane with nets constructed of explosive material. The detonation of the nets destroys the mines covered by the nets. The Navy deploys multiple, overlapping nets from ships positioned close to the shore or from nearby locations on shore. Rockets pull the bundled nets from the ships' decks and deploy (spread) the nets over the assault lane. The Navy's method uses overlapping nets to completely cover the assault lane. Unfortunately, the deployment method exposes landing forces to hostile fire and the accumulation of errors in this method of deploying the nets makes it difficult to achieve complete coverage of the assault lane. No other method of the prior art provides a reliable means for deploying explosive nets of this general type over an assault lane from a safe distance.